The bluebonnet is named Texas’ state flower in 1901
It’s spring! Clearly, we can all see the usual signs of the springtime season. From the cool, crisp mormons, to the warm, sunny afternoons. While intermittent rain showers bring blooms to the trees and paint the prairie with color … wildflowers are popping up everywhere!
Here in Milam County, we are blessed with an abundance of wildflowers. Primrose, paintbrush, goldenrod, and coreopsis fill central Texas with spring flair. And - what about the beautiful bluebonnets? What about the Texas State Flower? Luckily we have many patches on roadsides and fields full of these noble wildflowers.
The annual blooming of bluebonnets tends to stir the hearts of Texans with pride. But, how did the bluebonnet become our state flower? Well, actually, it almost wasn’t chosen for that distinction.
In 1901, the 27th Texas legislature met with great controversy and debate over the naming of an official state flower. Perhaps there are just too many choices.
The first flower nominated to represent Texas was the cotton plant flower or cotton bloom. Cotton was, and still is, a huge part of the Texas economy. So it made perfect sense to many lawmakers that cotton flowers would be an excellent choice.
Others wanted the hearty prickly pear cactus flower to be the state flower. A third group suggested the yellow rose of Texas. History reports that a young African-American woman named Emily D. Morgan played a critical role in the Texas Revolution in 1836. She ever-inspired the famous song “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” Some folks in Austin wanted to honor Emily by naming the yellow rose our state flower. As you know, none of these bids for other flowers prevailed.
So how did the bluebonnet win the title of Texas state flower?
Disappointed in the legislature’s flower choices in 1901, a group of ladies went into action. This group was the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. These ladies were determined to make the Texas Legislature vote for the bluebonnet. To influence the politicians, the Dames of America decorated the state capitol building with paintings of bluebonnets and added vases of bluebonnets to each congressman’s desk.
And - it worked! On March 7, 1901, the bluebonnet was officially named the state flower of Texas.
Their scientific name is Lupinus Texensis or Lupinus Subcarnosus. A couple of fun facts are that these two varieties only grow here in Texas. And, our state was the first in the U.S. to plant wildflowers along the highways. Thank you, Lady Bird Johnson!
Bluebonnets were called “el conejo” or “the rabbit” in Spanish. The Native Americans called bluebonnets “buffalo clover” and/or “wolf flowers.” Whichever name we use, the bluebonnets are a beautiful symbol of Texas. Noted historian Jack Maguire can be quoted as saying, “The bluebonnet is to Texas, what the shamrock is to Ireland.” So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, y’all. Enjoy the bluebonnets that currently blanket Milam County. It’s a great year for them!
If you plan to travel around Milam County or central Texas enjoying the beautiful wildflowers, be sure and stop by the Milam County Museum at 112 W 1st Street. It is open for business on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also, visit the Old Milam County Jail Museum at 201 E Main Street in downtown Cameron. And you can visit either museum during their extended hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., when you’re in downtown for Cameron’s Spring Festival on March 25.